International Standards

The European Organisation of Military Associations and Trade Unions (EUROMIL) is the umbrella organisation of national military associations and trade unions. Originally founded in 1972, the Organisation promotes the social and professional interests of military personnel of all ranks in Europe.  EUROMIL is the premier forum in Europe for the co-operation among professional military associations on issues of common concern. One of our main tasks is therefore to facilitate exchange of information, experiences and best practice among our member associations. The organisation, moreover, strives to secure and advance the human rights, fundamental freedoms and socio-professional interests of soldiers by monitoring and advocating in multinational negotiations on the European level. EUROMIL’s member associations and unions are committed to the principle of the ‘Citizen in Uniform’. As such, a soldier is entitled to the same rights and obligations as any other citizen. Therefore EUROMIL promotes the inclusion of military personnel into EU social and labour legislation.

EUROMIL maintains formal contacts with the EU Institutions, the Council of Europe (CoE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Additionally, EUROMIL established partnerships with the European Movement International (EMI), the Kangaroo Group and Friends of Europe.

EUROMIL is organised as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and is a registered international not-for-profit organisation (aisbl) in Brussels, Belgium.

Funded exclusively by membership fees, EUROMIL keeps to strict non-denominational and politically independent policies.

 

Legal base

UN

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNO 1948), Art 20 and 23
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), Art 8
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), Art 22

OSCE

• Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (1990): (9.3)
• Charter of Paris for a New Europe (1990): freedom of association and peaceful assembly
• Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security (Budapest 1994): Chapter VII, 20, 32, 33

European Union

• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (2000), Art 12
• European Parliament Resolution (1984): On the right of members of the armed forces to form associations
• European Parliament Resolution (1997): On respect for human rights in the European Union (1995), §50
• European Parliament Resolution (2009): On the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union 2004-2008, §89
• European Parliament Resolution (2016): On the European Defence Union, §12

Council of Europe

• European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950), Art 11
• European Social Charter (1961/Rev 1996), Part II, Art 5
• Resolution 903 (1988) on the right to association for members of the professional staff of the armed forces
• Resolution 1166 and Recommendation 1380 (1998) on human rights of conscripts
• Recommendation 1572 (2002) on the right to association for members of the professional staff of the armed forces
• Recommendation 1714 (2005), 9 on the abolition of restrictions on the right to vote
• Recommendation 1742 (2006) on human rights of members of the armed forces
• Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)4 on human rights of members of the armed forces
• Human rights jurisprudence:
  – Judgements of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of ADEFDROMIL v. France (2014) and Matelly v. France (2014) considering that a blanket ban on trade unions within the French armed forces is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights;
  – European Committee of Social Rights decisions in the cases EUROMIL v. Ireland (2018), CGIL v. Italy (2019) and UGL–CFS, SAPAF v. Italy (2019) affirming that trade union rights apply to military personnel.

ILO

• Convention 87 (1948), Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise
• Convention 98 (1949), Right to Organise and to Collective Bargaining
• Convention 151 (1978), Labour Relations (Public Service)
• Recommendation 159 (1978), Labour Relations (Public Service)
• Convention (2019), Violence and Harassment in the Workplace
• Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work (2019)
• Recommendation 68 (1944), Social Security (Armed Forces)